Great concentration this year, making for a really intense, sappy Roussanne; pear tarte tatin flavours, alongside the intense cigar tobacco, cedar and sandalwood. Dense and concentrated, it's weightier than the 2020 vintage, and riper and denser than most 2021 Châteauneuf blancs. Huge length. The oaking is robust, it shows quite strongly so give this time. All aged in oak, half new, half one-year-old, mostly demi-muids.
98 points, Matt Walls, Decanter (Sep 2022)
It's really hard to do the aromas of this wine justice, such is their complexity, extending from the whole range of candied citrus through ripe apricot to dried thyme. Amazing mouthfeel, the creamy stony and delicately zesty aspects of the wine beautifully interwoven to create a ravishingly beautiful whole. In spite of the power this is light on its feet at the very long, refined finish. 100% roussanne from ancient vines. From organically grown grapes. Drink or hold.
97 points, Stuart Pigott, James Suckling (May 2023)
Cropped at a tiny 12 – 18 hL/Ha, the 2021 Châteauneuf-du-Pape Blanc Roussanne Vieilles Vignes is at eye level with the 2020. It displays magnificent aromas of honeysuckle, yellow apple, ripe pear, grapefruit, lemon flesh, cedar and hints of herbal tea so typical of the Roussanne variety. Full-bodied, layered and kept in check by lively acidity, it concludes with a round and persistent finish. Only 4,000 bottles produced.
96 points, Nicolas Greinacher, Vinous (Jun 2023)
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